Attachment for telephone toll-boxes.



PATENTED MAR. 6, 1906.

R. M. COMES. ATTACHMENT FOR TELEPHONE TOLL BOXES.

APPLIGATION FILED DEO.12,1904.

l i lnulll fiil D ROGERS M. C OMBS, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

ATTACHMENT FOR TELEPHONE TOLL-BOXES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Batented March 6, 1906.

Application filed December 12, 1904. Serial No. 236,606.

To all whmn it may concern:

Be it known that I, RoGERs M. CoMBs, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Attachments for Telephone Toll-Boxes; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to a novel construction in an attachment for telephone tollboXes constituting a reservoir or receptacle from which coins of a given denomination or metallic disks used as substitutes therefor are fed consecutively into the toll-box as required, the object being to provide a simple and eflicient device of this character; and it consists in the features of construction and combinations of parts hereinafter fully described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, illustrating my invention, Figure 1 is a front elevation of an attachment constructed in accord ance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a central vertical section of the same on the line 2 2 of Fig. 3. Fig. 3 is a plan section of same on the line 3 3 of Fig. 1.

My said device as illustrated is particularly adapted to be mounted upon and used in connection with the telephone toll-boxes employed by the Chicago Telephone Company, but may be easily modified to adapt it to boxes of any other pattern.

My said device is also particularly adapted to the requirements of patrons of said Ohicago Telephone Company, which requires a certain monthly guarantee ranging from five cents to thirty cents a day, the cost of each call being five cents, which amount is deposited before connection is made by the oper- This requirement for a coin of given denomination is the source of a great deal of trouble, as the patron must keep a supply of the same or of metallic disks corresponding in size with such coin always at hand. Furthermore, by reason of said guarantee the patron having no convenient means for keeping count of the number of coins deposited is never certain whether the guaranteed number of calls for the month have been reached or exceeded, and the result is constant friction and annoyance in the relations of the company and its patrons.

My present invention is designed to overcome these difficulties; and it consists of a bracket A, suitably secured to the toll-box B of the telephone at the upper end thereof and on which is supported a horizontal plate C and a plate D, partially parallel with said plate C, the space between said plates being substantially equal to the thickness of a coin of the denomination required to be deposited in said toll-box. Revolubly mounted between said plates is a spider E, having a plurality of arms F, which are adapted to act as ejectors for coins fed upon said plate C in their path, said coins being so fed from a vertically-disposed tube G, open at its lower end and supported in said plate D. The said tube G is provided at its upper end with a slot H, through which the coins or disks are introduced into the same, there being a series of perforations I in said tube through which the coins are visible. Said space be tween said plates O and D communicates at one side with a chute J, having a vertical wall at one side, which is substantially a flange of the plate C, and an oppositelydisposed wall K, which is parallel at its lower end with said vertical wall and then diverges therefrom in an ogee curve and joins the plate D at its upper end, the latter being raised from said point of juncture to the tube to form an enlarged passage L for the coin or disk to enable the same when ejected to turn in passing over the rounded corner forming the juncture between said plate C and the vertical wall of said chute'J. The latter communicates, through a contracted passage M, with the coin-slot of the toll-box B, said passage being adjusted to register with said coinslot by means of a set-screw N, mounted in an arm 0 on said bracketA and revolubly connected with the lower end portion of said chute J in a well-known manner, said set-screw being locked in position by me ans of the lock-nut P. In the instance illustrated the said spider E is provided with four arms F and is disposed relatively to said plates C and D, that when one arm F is in position to engage a coin or disk ready to eject same the said arm and. two others are covered by the plate D,'and the fourth arm only projects and serves as a means for revolving said spider. Said arms are further relatively so disposed that when one of same is in the position above described to engage the lowermost coin or disk the arm which ejected the last preceding coin or disk will have just passed out of the path of the IIO next succeeding coin or disk. To prevent said coins or disks from being ejected by reversing the movement of said spider, I provide a stop Q, so disposed as to permit the free rotation of said arms and the inner face of which is flush with the inner face of said tube and substantially directly opposite the rear end of the arm which has last ejected a coin. Reverse movement of the spider will obviously press the coin directly against said stop Q and hold same against ejection. The said. tube G is preferably made of a length sufficient to receive the total number of coins guaranteed or a given part thereof, and thus enables the subscriber to ascertain with a certain degree of accuracy the total number of calls had.

Coins returned from the toll-box by reason of failure to give the desired connection are returned into the tube through the slot H.

My device is very simple and efficient and may be slightly modified to suit toll-boxes of various patterns.

I claim as my invention 1. The combination with a telephone tollboX, of a chute communicating at one end with the coin-slot thereof, a vertically-disposed tube for coins, and a revoluble ejector adapted to engage the lowermost coin and feed same into said chute.

2. The combination with a telephone tollbox, of a chute communicating at one end with the coin-slot thereof, said chute being enlarged at its upper end, a horizontally-dis posed passage communicating at one end with the upper end of said chute, a verticallydisposed tube for coins communicating with said passa e between the ends of thelatter, and a revo uble ejector disposed in said passage.

3. The combination with a telephone tollboX, of a vertically-disposed chute registering at its delivery end with the coin-slot thereof, a horizontally-disposed passage communicating at one end with the upper end of said chute, a coin-ejector disposed in said passage, and a vertically-disposed tube for coins communicating with said passage between the ends thereof and. adapted to feed coins consecutively into the path .of said ejector.

4. The combination with a telephone tollboX, of a vertically-disposed chute registering at its delivery end with the coin-slot thereof, a horizontally-disposed passage com municating at one end with the upper end of said chute, a coin-ejector disposed in said having a plurality of arms each adapted to engage and eject a coin consecutively, said arms being relatively so spaced as to permit the passage of a coin between each two adj acent arms, and a vertically-disposed tube for coins communicating with said passage between the ends thereof and adapted to feed coins consecutively into the path of said ejector.

6. The combination with a telephone tolla boX, of a vertically-disposed tube for coins communicating at one end with a horizontally-disposed passage, a revoluble ejector disposed in said passage, avertically-disposed chute communicating at its upper end with said passage and registering at its delivery end with the coin-slot of the toll-box, and'a stop disposed in said passage in the path of the lowermost coin adapted to prevent re verse movement of said ejector and said lowermost coin.

7. A device of the kind specified, comprising a vertically-disposed tube for coins communicating at one end with a horizontallydisposed passage, a revoluble ejector disposed in said passage, a vertically-disposed chute communicating at its upper end with said'passage and registering at its delivery end with the coin-slot ofthe toll-box, and a stop disposed in said passage in the path of the lowermost coin adapted to prevent reverse movement of said ejector and said lowermost coin, and means en aging said chute adjacent its delivery end for adjusting the position of the same relatively to the coin-slot of the toll-box.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name in presence of two subscribing wit IIGSSGS.

ROGERS M. COMBS. Witnesses:

RUDOLPH WM. Lo'rz, F. SCI-ILOTFELD. 

